Castlemaine Calendar

The Strengths Cafe

2010-04-16T15:38:00.000+10:00

Looks like the good folk at St Luke's Innovative Resources are re-building their fantastic Strengths Cafe, with all their great resources including The Bears Cards, the Strength Cards and Strength Cards for Kids.

Stay tuned and have a look!

They are seriously optimistic!

Major Mitchell Expedition

2010-03-19T16:14:00.000+11:00

Follow Eliza's Journey as she re-enacts Major Mitchell's travels, 174 years after he did.

Have a look here. Be sure to drop Eliza a line!

Malmsbury Photographs

2010-03-01T15:21:00.000+11:00

Beauitful photos from Len Johnston in Malmsbury:

Look at his site here.

Or just launched - here.

Castlemaine Independent

2010-02-23T14:45:00.000+11:00

Ok, you gotta see this.

A new voice for Castlemaine.

The Castlemaine Independent.

Take a look. News, views and reviews. What's on around town, etc.

Two great school sites

2010-02-23T14:42:00.000+11:00

Have a look at these two great new websites for two of our local schools:

Winters Flat Primary School.

Castlemaine Secondary School.

Robyn Annear

2010-02-05T23:41:00.000+11:00

New site for fantastic author Robyn Annear just launched. Have a look at robynannear.com.

Environmental Films

2009-12-14T14:57:00.000+11:00

Check out these great films from Environment Audio Visuals.

Eco Fashion
The House with No Bills
Going Carbon Neutral: The story of the Castlemaine State Festival
Renewing Hope: Solar, Wind and Biomass in Germany and Australia
Going Carbon Neutral: The Ashton Hayes example

Also worth looking at: Educational Environmental Films

Central Vic Ecology

2009-11-05T08:35:00.000+11:00

Great new site run by Doug Ralph. News and views on biodiversity. Observations, links, videos etc.

Click here to have a look.

Predicting the Future

2009-11-05T07:59:00.000+11:00

This new site should be good fun... making predictions of the future, from horse races to scientific breakthroughs to innovative ideas and suggestions.

Predict the future here!

Castlemaine Health

2009-10-26T17:06:00.002+11:00

New domain for Castlemaine Hospital...

Mount Alexander Hospital as it used to be known as!

www.castlemainehealth.org.au

Futons Melbourne, Castlemaine and elsewhere

2009-10-23T22:55:00.000+11:00

If you're looking for a great futon, don't forget the futon factory right here in Castlemaine. They're selling to Melbourne, Bendigo, Ballarat and of course locally.

Check out their site at www.futonfactory.com.au

Shades of Gray - Metalwork artists in Castlemaine

2009-10-05T10:31:00.002+11:00

New website for Shades of Gray in Castlemaine...

Artists Chelly and Peter Gray found a roll of rusty wire on their country property 16 years ago and started twisting it into works of art. Perhaps because of their ceramics training, their creations are functional as well as original, from candelabras and bowls to beds, mirrors, fire screens, sculptures and garden art.

Check it out here!

New Search Engine: Tutapata

2009-09-17T21:47:00.002+10:00

Hey look at this. There's a great new search engine ready to challenge Google.

Tutapata Search. I think it's Swahili or something. Check it out, looks like good fun.

Central Vic Real Estate

2009-04-15T22:38:00.001+10:00

The Central Vic Search now has a Real Estate listing page.

Have a look here.

Green Design

2008-10-27T14:52:00.003+11:00

A new forum is taking shape to discuss green design. If you are designer, or have an interest in sustainable design, have a look at green-graphics' blog.

Central Victorian Search Website launched..!

2008-08-23T21:17:00.003+10:00

Have a look at this great site, just launched by greenGraphics (Castlemaine-based web designers) ... Central Victorian Business Search is a new site that will help you find local trades and services in the Castlemaine, Maldon, Newstead, Bendigo and Ballarat areas (central victoria).

It looks like it's just started, so keep checking to see how it progresses.

Digital camera reviews

2007-12-02T22:25:00.000+11:00

Here's a cool site that will help you in your search for a digital camera. There are links to camera reviews, there's plain-English unpacking of all the technical jargon, and there are sample pictures taken from the various models and makes.

Go to Reviews for Digital Cameras Blogspot

The Age Science and Health

2007-04-16T12:37:00.000+10:00

Scientists believe they have found a key gene that helped the human brain evolve from our chimpanzee-like ancestors. See The Age article for more information.

In just a few million years, one area of the human genome seems to have evolved about 70 times faster than the rest of our genetic code. It appears to have a role in a rapid tripling of the size of the brain's crucial cerebral cortex, according to an article published on Thursday in the journal, Nature.

Study co-author David Haussler, director of the Centre for Biomolecular Science and Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said his team found strong but still circumstantial evidence that a gene, called TUYKE, may provide an important answer to the question of what makes humans more intelligent than other primates."
Human brains are triple the size of chimpanzee brains.

Looking at 49 areas that have changed the most between the human and chimpanzee genomes, Haussler zeroed in on an area with "a very dramatic change in a relatively short period of time."
Haussler said the gene didn't exist until 300 million years ago and is present only in mammals and birds, not fish or animals without backbones. But the gene didn't change much during that time, Haussler said.

He said there were only two differences in the gene between a chimpanzee and a chicken. But there were 18 differences in the gene between human and chimpanzee and they all seemed to occur in the development of man.

Andrew Clark, a professor of molecular biology who was not part of Haussler's team, said that if true, the change in genes would be fastest and most dramatic in humans and would be "terrifically exciting."

However, the gene changed so fast that Clark said that he has a hard time believing it unless something unusual happened in a mutation. It's not part of normal evolution, he said. Haussler attributed the dramatic change to the stress of man getting out of trees and walking on two feet.
And it's not just that this gene changed a lot. There is also its involvement with the brain's cortex, which is responsible for some of the more complex brain functions, including language and information processing.

"It looks like in fact it is important in the development of (the) brain," said co-author Sofie Salama, a research biologist at Santa Cruz, who led the efforts to identify where the gene is active in the body.

The scientists still don't know specifically what the gene does. But they know that it is switched on in human fetuses at seven weeks after conception and then shuts down at 19 weeks, Haussler said.

See http://www.theage.com.au/news/science/gene-clue-in-monkey-brain-evolution/2006/08/17/1155407916074.html for full article.

What's on in March

2007-03-10T16:46:00.000+11:00

Here's what's on in March...

The start of the Castlemaine State Festival!

The Castlemaine State Festival, after thirty years of existence, is the pre-eminent multi-arts cultural event in regional Victoria. Today, the Festival continues to provide community engagement and arts excellence in a captivating heritage and environmentally unique setting.

Responding to our last festival Chris Boyd from The Age was so impressed he wrote, "pound for pound Castlemaine State Festival is the equal of any in the country."

links

2007-03-10T16:17:00.006+11:00

The Castlemaine Theatre Royal

Mt Alexander Shire Council

Mt Alexander Accommodation Guide

In Trouble Arts Guide

What's On in Maldon & Castlemaine

Serge Liberman Author Writer

Central Victoria Solar Cities

Fine Lit Australia - purveyors of fine literature

Here are some cool sites I've visited lately:

Guff and Stuff on Blogr

Victoria in the Country - writings about life in central Victoria, from the big smoke of Sydney.

Golly Gully - conveyers of fine confectionery, lollies etc from Castlemaine.

Community Gig Guide

2007-03-09T09:53:00.000+11:00

what's on

At the Theatre

At the Railway

etc

Welcome to the Castlemaine Calendar

2007-03-09T09:27:00.000+11:00

The Castlemaine Calendar

> Health & Fitness

> The Community Gig Guide

> Arts Stuff